A Huge Step Forward

Great news out of Egypt tonight. The Grand Mufti of Egypt (one of the most respected scholars of Islamic law) has issued a fatwa saying that premarital hymen reconstructive surgery is halal (religiously permissable), and that women don’t need to tell their future husbands about it. He even went so far as to say that a woman is under no obligation to tell her husband that she had premarital sex if she has repented. I can’t be sure, since I can’t find the actual fatwa, but the newspaper article made it seem like this applies even to adultery.

The best part? Another scholar (Shiekh Khaled El Gindy) has chimed in, saying that the reason for this fatwa is that “Islam never differentiates between men and women, so it is not rational for us to think that God has placed a sign to indicate the virginity of women without having a similar sign to indicate the virginity of men.” Apparently he also has a similar sense of humor as I do, since he added that “Any man who is concerned about his prospective wife’s hymen should first provide a proof that he himself is virgin.” (I want to meet this guy!)

So, next time someone tells you that Islam is inherently misogynistic, point them here. It’s happening slowly, but it’s making strides.